Public release date: 31-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology
A new strain of influenza virus found in harbor seals could represent a threat to wildlife and human health, according to the authors of a study appearing July 31 in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. It is crucial to monitor viruses like this one, which originated in birds and adapted to infect mammals, the authors say, so that scientists can better predict the emergence of new strains of influenza and prevent pandemics in the future.
"There is a concern that we have a new mammalian-transmissible virus to which humans haven't been exposed yet. It's a combination we haven't seen in disease before," says Anne Moscona of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, the editor of the report.
The authors, who hail from several different institutions, including Columbia University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Outbreaks, say transmissible and pathogenic flu viruses in mammals, like the one in this study, clearly pose a concern for human health. In 2009, for instance, the H1N1 "swine flu" virus that emerged in humans apparently originated from a reassortment of flu viruses found in birds, pigs, and humans. The H3N8 strain in New England harbor seals may come to represent the first sighting of a new group of influenza viruses with the potential to persist and move between species.
The mBio study analyzed the DNA of a virus associated with a die-off of 162 New England harbor seals in 2011. Autopsies of five of the seals revealed they apparently died from infection with a type of influenza called H3N8, which is closely related to a flu strain that has been circulating in North American birds since 2002. Unlike the strain in birds, this virus has adaptations to living in mammals and has mutations that are known to make flu viruses more transmissible and cause more severe disease. The virus also has the ability to target a receptor called SA-2,6, a protein found in the human respiratory tract.
Moscana says the study raises two concerns about flu. First, this strain is a novel virus that infects mammals and may well pass from animal to animal, a combination of traits that make it a potential threat to humans. Also, the possibility that a bird flu virus would infect seals hadn't been widely considered before, highlighting the fact that pandemic influenza can crop up in unexpected ways. She emphasizes the need for readiness.
"Flu could emerge from anywhere and our readiness has to be much better than we previously realized. We need to be very nimble in our ability to identify and understand the potential risks posed by new viruses emerging from unexpected sources," says Moscona. "It's important to realize that viruses can emerge through routes that we haven't considered. We need to be alert to those risks and ready to act on them."
###
mBio is an open access online journal published by the American Society for Microbiology to make microbiology research broadly accessible. The focus of the journal is on rapid publication of cutting-edge research spanning the entire spectrum of microbiology and related fields. It can be found online at http://mBio.asm.org.
Excerpt from:
New influenza virus from seals highlights the risks of pandemic flu from animals
- Monoclonal antibody production by hybridoma technique explained - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Humoral immunity - October 11th, 2010 [October 11th, 2010]
- Introduction to Microbiology Culture Techniques - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Microbiology 2: Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Microbiology - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Human Physiology : What Is Microbiology? - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Microbiologist - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Lecture 18 Introduction to Microbiology - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- microbiology final review - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- A Day in the Life - Microbiologist - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Microbiology Open House - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- Microbiology Dilution series demonstration - August 27th, 2011 [August 27th, 2011]
- MCQ in Microbiology : DoctorKC - August 31st, 2011 [August 31st, 2011]
- Microbiology Movie - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology Pure Culture Technique - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Wastewater Microbiology - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology and Parasitology Case Study Mycobacterium Tuberculosis - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Lecture 19 Microbiology - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Pharmaceutical Microbiology - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Quest Diagnostics Department of Molecular Microbiology Summer Blast 2009 - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Koch's Postulates: an introduction to microbiology - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology: Streaking for Isolation - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Pathophysiology Videos - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Duke Graduate Program in Molecular Genetics and Microbiology - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Hot Topics in Diagnostic Microbiology: Chlamydia and Asthma - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Tim Day - Undergraduate Microbiology Research - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology Practice Test Chapter 1 part 2/3 - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Welcome to Microbiology at NUI Galway - September 23rd, 2011 [September 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology degree, college program interview from drkit.org - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Microbiology: Aseptic Transfer - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Improving Soils with Microbiology - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Microbiology Practice Test Chapter 1 part 1/3 - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Microbiologists Careers Overview - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- Biology 1AL - Lecture 2: Lab 2 - Enzymes, Microbiology-Vibri - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Day in the Life - Microbiology / Virology - Prof Bill Rawlinson - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Laboratory Manager Job (Microbiology) - London, UK - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Assuring Quality in Microbiology Diagnostics - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- Microbiology Testing Innovations for China and The World - September 25th, 2011 [September 25th, 2011]
- TRINITY V3 Industrial Microbiology System - September 26th, 2011 [September 26th, 2011]
- Microbiology Advancing Translational Medicine - September 27th, 2011 [September 27th, 2011]
- Advancing Microbiology Testing Technology - September 27th, 2011 [September 27th, 2011]
- Biology 1AL - Lecture 2: Lab 3: Enzymes, Microbiology-Vibrio - September 28th, 2011 [September 28th, 2011]
- Microbiological Fuel Contamination - September 28th, 2011 [September 28th, 2011]
- Microbiology Streaking Plates - September 30th, 2011 [September 30th, 2011]
- Lecture 2: Essentials of Microbiology, Introduction to Microfluidics - October 2nd, 2011 [October 2nd, 2011]
- Healthwatch: PRHC Microbiology Lab - October 6th, 2011 [October 6th, 2011]
- SOIL not DIRT - Dr Elaine Ingham talks Soil Microbiology - October 7th, 2011 [October 7th, 2011]
- The Microbiology of Reptiles - Video - October 13th, 2011 [October 13th, 2011]
- Microbiology - Video - October 13th, 2011 [October 13th, 2011]
- Safer Sprouts - Part 6 - Sampling and MIcrobiological Testing - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Microbiology movie - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- Kaplan's USMLE Step 1 Program Preview: Microbiology - Video - October 14th, 2011 [October 14th, 2011]
- DNA Replication Process Animation from Microbiology 2e - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Rhizobium Microbiology Video - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Introduction to Microbiology Dr. Ahmed Ramzy (Part 1).wmv - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- A tour of the Microbiology Lab - Section one - Video - October 16th, 2011 [October 16th, 2011]
- Environmental Biology, Microbiology and Chemistry through Science at UCD - Video - October 16th, 2011 [October 16th, 2011]
- Total Solutions for Microbiology Testing - Video - October 18th, 2011 [October 18th, 2011]
- US Navy Microbiologist- Dr. Rockabrand - Video - October 23rd, 2011 [October 23rd, 2011]
- Microbiology Song - Video - October 24th, 2011 [October 24th, 2011]
- Marine Microbiology Initiative Overview - Video - October 26th, 2011 [October 26th, 2011]
- A tour of the Microbiology Lab - Section Three - Video - October 26th, 2011 [October 26th, 2011]
- Great microbiologists - Video - October 26th, 2011 [October 26th, 2011]
- Microbiology: Viruses Vs Prokaryotes Vs Eukaryotes - Video - October 27th, 2011 [October 27th, 2011]
- Food Microbiology part-2 - Video - October 30th, 2011 [October 30th, 2011]
- Food Microbiology Research - Video - October 31st, 2011 [October 31st, 2011]
- Interview with a Medical Microbiologist - Video - November 1st, 2011 [November 1st, 2011]
- Food Microbiology part-1 - Video - November 8th, 2011 [November 8th, 2011]
- Food Microbiology part-3 - Video - November 8th, 2011 [November 8th, 2011]
- Microbiology Safety in the Laboratory 1 - Video - November 13th, 2011 [November 13th, 2011]
- serology, microbiology, jjmmc, davangere - Video - November 27th, 2011 [November 27th, 2011]
- Microbiology department, JJMMC, Davangere - Video - December 5th, 2011 [December 5th, 2011]
- Thermo Scientific Heratherm Microbiological Incubators - Video - December 5th, 2011 [December 5th, 2011]
- Food Microbiology: An Overlooked Frontier | Lecture 11 (2011) - Video - December 6th, 2011 [December 6th, 2011]
- A tour of the Microbiology Lab - Section Two - Video - December 7th, 2011 [December 7th, 2011]
- Microbiology catalase test - Video - December 8th, 2011 [December 8th, 2011]
- Microbiology Lab Safety - Video - December 20th, 2011 [December 20th, 2011]
- Coast to Coast Mysterious Deaths of Microbiologists - December 26th, 2011 [December 26th, 2011]
- MSU Microbiology - BPS Blues 2010 - Video - January 1st, 2012 [January 1st, 2012]
- Kiestra fully automated microbiology testing system - Video - January 4th, 2012 [January 4th, 2012]